World number one Magnus Carlsen ran out of time in his match against Alireza Firouzja as reigning champions Triveni Continental Kings thrashed league favourites Alpine Sg Pipers 17-4 in season 2 of the Global Chess League in London on Friday. (More Chess News)
The early stages of the match were evenly balanced between the two teams. About 20 minutes in — halfway through the time control (as each player had 20 minutes for their moves) — computer evaluations showed equality across the boards.
The first to break through was Richard Rapport of the Pipers, who launched a vicious attack on Teimour Radjabov, leaving him with no escape. Soon after, former women’s world champions Hou Yifan and Alexandra Kosteniuk agreed to a draw, giving Pipers a 4-1 lead.
The other four boards went down to the wire.
After testing his opponent in the middlegame, Carlsen managed to find a weakness in Firouzja's position, to gain the upper hand.
But Firouzja wasn’t giving up – his position was lost but he had the time advantage.
With no time increment, the pressure shifted to Carlsen and despite his efforts, the Norwegian ultimately lost on time, a rare occurrence for him. This critical victory gave Triveni four points and the lead in the match.
R Pragnanandhaa then fell to Wei Yi on board two, further strengthening Triveni's command of the match.
Shortly after, the Pipers crumbled on the remaining boards, handing Triveni a stunning victory.
Anand's Ganges Grandmasters stumble
Five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand went down to former world blitz champion Maxime Vachier-Lagrave as Mumba Masters registered a 14-5 win over Ganges Grandmasters.
Both teams came into this match seeking their first win, having lost their opening games by identical scores. The headline icon matchup on board one pitted the Anand against Vachier-Lagrave.
Despite holding a better position, Anand blundered a tactical sacrifice, allowing Vachier-Lagrave to turn the tables.
Although facing time pressure, the French star tapped into his blitz champion instincts, tightening his control over the game and ultimately clinching a vital victory.
Mumba Masters, who played the match as Black - took control from there, with a win on the youngsters’ board and a draw on the second women’s board, pushing them into the lead.
Ganges Grandmasters couldn’t catch a break, and despite world number three Arjun Erigaisi’s best efforts, he could only manage a draw against Vidit Gujrathi, despite being ahead on the clock.
The situation worsened when Koneru Humpy overcame Vaishali R, clinching the match for the upGrad Mumba Masters.
While Parham Maghsoodloo secured a hard-fought victory against Peter Svidler to salvage some pride for the Ganges, it wasn’t enough to save them from a 14-5 defeat.
With the Mumba Masters claiming their first points, Ganges Grandmasters face an uphill battle after back-to-back losses.
The situation is even worse because this is their second defeat with white pieces. They’ll need to regroup quickly if they hope to stay in contention for the top places.
Anish Giri holds Hikaru Nakamura to a draw
Earlier in the day, PBG Alaskan Knights took on the American Gambits with the former playing with white pieces.
On board one – icon players Anish Giri (Alaskan Knights) and Hikaru Nakamura (American Gambits) drew their game despite a lot of options on the board to consider.
When asked if they are happy with the outcome, both confirmed but Nakamura noted it was Giri’s choice to go for a draw. As the match progressed, this turned out to be a good call for Giri as his teammates secured four victories (on the youngsters board, the women’s boards and one of the superstar boards) and one more draw, for a convincing score of 14-2.
After this round, PBG Alaskan Knights emerged as the sole leaders of the tournament, with six match points, while the American Gambits remained on three.
